From suburban households in East Legon watching their taps sputter dry to remote communities in the Upper East trekking miles for murky borehole water, Ghana is quietly inching toward a national water emergency. And yet, amid rising concern from environmentalists and local NGOs, the government remains curiously silent.
Ghana’s water supply, long strained by population growth, rapid urbanization, and climate change, is now fraying at both the urban and rural seams. Once-reliable sources are now erratic, infrastructure is aging, and planning appears to have flatlined. Experts warn that without swift intervention, the country could face not just water scarcity, but a full-blown public health disaster.
Taps Go Dry in Accra’s Affluent Neighborhoods
In what used to be considered high-end neighborhoods, such as East Legon and Spintex, households have begun stockpiling water in poly tanks and relying on tanker services. Residents complain of inconsistent flow and long gaps between supply. In some cases, weeks pass without water reaching residential taps.
“The irony is that the more expensive the area, the more likely you are to rely on private water vendors,” says Kwabena Mensah, a water engineer and consultant. “The city’s pipelines weren’t designed for the demand it now sees.”
While the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has attributed some of the shortages to “maintenance and load management,” critics say the problem goes far deeper — pointing to decades of underinvestment and a planning system that has failed to scale alongside Accra’s growth.
Rural Ghana: Where Water Is a Luxury
The situation is even more dire in parts of the Northern and Savannah regions. In Bongo and Bolgatanga districts, women and children still walk over five kilometers daily to fetch water from seasonal streams or community boreholes — some of which dry up entirely during the harmattan season.
A 2023 UNICEF report revealed that nearly 22% of rural Ghanaians lack access to safe drinking water year-round. In some communities, boreholes drilled by NGOs in the early 2000s have broken down with no technical support for repairs. In others, livestock and humans compete at the same water points.
“This is not just inconvenient — it’s dangerous,” says Dr. Aisha Braimah, a rural health advocate. “Children miss school. Diarrheal diseases are rampant. Water, or the lack of it, is literally shortening lives.”
The Planning Void — and Political Silence
Water infrastructure is not a politically “sexy” subject in Ghana. While major highways and flyovers make for visible electoral promises, pipes and purification systems go largely ignored. Environmental experts say this aversion is costing the country dearly.
Accra’s Weija Dam — one of the capital’s major water sources — has faced heavy silting, encroachment from developers, and unregulated waste dumping for years. Similar concerns plague the Densu and Volta basins, both under threat from illegal mining and deforestation.
Despite these pressures, Ghana’s Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources receives less than 1.5% of the national budget — a stark contrast to the 10% benchmark recommended by the African Union for water and sanitation infrastructure.
“Water isn’t just a social service,” says E.K. Ampadu, student of University of Ghana’s Environmental Science department. “It’s an economic enabler. If taps run dry, businesses close, hospitals shut, and disease spreads. This is national security.”
Urban Sprawl, Private Developers, and the Hidden Crisis
Unregulated real estate development has further compounded the issue. In areas like Ashaley Botwe and Oyarifa, thousands of homes have been constructed without municipal water connections, leaving residents to fend for themselves.
“By the time the city catches up, the sprawl is already baked in,” admits a senior official at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We’re always reacting — never anticipating.”
Climate Change, Drought, and the Next Phase
Climate data suggest that rainfall patterns across Ghana are becoming increasingly unpredictable. The Ghana Meteorological Agency warns of shorter, more intense wet seasons and prolonged dry spells. These shifts threaten surface water bodies and leave rain-fed boreholes at the mercy of climate cycles.
Compounding the issue is the continued degradation of watersheds. Forest reserves and riverbanks have seen unchecked logging and encroachment, reducing their ability to retain and replenish groundwater.
What Comes Next?
In recent months, civil society groups have begun to sound the alarm. The Coalition for Water Justice Ghana has called for an emergency task force to audit all urban and rural water infrastructure and provide a roadmap for national water resilience.
But so far, the state’s response has been muted. A proposed National Water Sustainability Bill, which would overhaul water governance, has stalled in Parliament since 2022. The President’s recent State of the Nation address did not mention water even once.
“The silence is deafening,” says Gloria Kafui Kudzo, a female journalist and environmental policy analyst. “When the taps stop flowing in Cantonments, maybe then they’ll act. But by then, it may be too late.”
A Quiet Collapse
Ghana’s water crisis is not marked by dramatic headlines or sudden disasters. It is slow, quiet, and steadily eroding the foundations of public health, social equity, and economic productivity.
If urgent investments and reforms are not made, the country risks waking up one day to find its taps permanently dry — and with them, the hopes of millions.
By; Samuel Kwame Boadu | Accra, Ghana
